January 2020!

Hey there, friends!  Happy New Year! 

I hope your holidays were great and 2020 is off to a great start.  We had several family gatherings to celebrate Christmas.  The gatherings are always such a good time, but the preparation sure is a lot of work.

I had an awesome surprise!

DD#2 made it home for Christmas!  Not sure how my girls managed to keep it a surprise, but I honestly had no clue until DD#2 walked through the door at our first family gathering.  This momma's heart was full!

These are the ornaments I finished and gave for gifts.  I used floss colors from my stash and changed some of the called for colors to traditional reds and greens.

In one of my facebook groups, a friend posted a photo of an UFO counted canvas project she had started years ago.  Her post reminded me of the UFO counted canvas project I had hiding in a closet.  She actually finished hers before Christmas.  I'm not as fond of this piece as when I purchased it so many years ago.  I'm just not sure I want to finish this as a framed piece.  What other options are there for finishing counted canvas pieces? 

The big news, what you've all been waiting for...

 
Baby Boy was born on January 14.  DD and her hubby have chosen not to share baby's information online, so I am not able to share his photo here.  He is adorable and such a sweet little bundle of joy.  Both mom and baby are doing well.

Until next time,

Happy Stitchin'







 

November & December

So hard to believe Christmas is next week.  Are you still working like crazy to get your holiday things done like I am?

My priority is, and has always been, to put my family first, so it's no surprise that most of my time has been spent taking care of my mom.  Can you believe it has been seven weeks since she fell?  I have been taking her to two or three doctor appointments every week.  Mom was so disappointed on Wednesday when the ortho said her broken leg was not healed enough to remove the cast and walking boot.  She will still be sporting that lovely ensamble through New Year"s due to the doctor being off for the holidays.  Yes, mom is still sleeping in her chair. She said she was not going to put that dirty walking boot on her bedding.

We celebrated DD and Baby Boy in November.  It was a beautiful day for her baby shower and they got many wonderful gifts.

I made three flannel self-binding baby blankets.  The youtube instructions I followed were easy, but the blankets took quite a bit more time to make than the 10 minutes the youtube video stated it would take.  I'm pleased with how my first attempt at these blankets turned out.

I also made a flannel and minky blanket using the same self-binding technique.

I finished the crochet C2C graphgan in time for the shower and DD said it is her favorite of all the blankets I've ever crocheted.

Hubby and I started looking for a newer vehicle during November.  We have been driving a 15 year old vehicle for 10 years and decided it was time to start looking.  We weren't looking for brand new, but when the dealership showed us a fully loaded 2019 for the same price as the used 2017 we were looking at, Hubby said we should buy the 2019.

It's been 22 years since we've had a new car!  We're still figuring out all the bells and whistles and I still don't have my phone completely connected, but the hardest thing to get used to is not having an ignition key, lol.

 
Hazel(nut) turned 3 years old!  She's such a sweetheart and totally thinks she's the boss.

Our decorations are up as much as they're going to be and the presents are in the process of being wrapped.  DD was supposed to be arriving tomorrow, but she called last night and said she can't come home.  I am so disappointed.  I haven't seen her since she returned from deployment in February and she wasn't able to come home for the baby shower because her unit has been training for their upcoming deployment. 

From our family to yours

Merry Christmas!

October

Hello!

My neighbor's tree was the most brilliant orange this year.  

How is that October started with temps in the 90's and ended with 9+ inches of snow and temps that dropped to 20F Halloween night?  What crazy weather we've had and it sure feels like winter is here.

Tiny snowman built by the little girl next door this morning before the snow started melting.

I haven't done any cross stitching, but I have been counting stitches and squares. 

These are C2C graphgan crochet squares for the baby blanket I'm making for our grandbaby.  I still have to stitch them together and put a border on.  I'm hoping to get it done for the baby shower.

DD #1 and her hubby celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary in September.  My Super-Son-In-Law did the sweetest, most romantic thing for his gift to DD.  He got permission from the new owners of my sister-in-law's farm (where DD and SIL where married) and arranged to have a photographer take photos there.

Many of the photos were taken in the same places on the farm as their wedding photos and they even included Skye, just as she was included in their wedding.

DD #2, the Army Officer, has been busy training with her unit as they prepare to deploy again.  She is not deploying with her unit as she will go into an officer's training program instead.  I haven't seen her since February and I hope it works out that she'll get to come home for Christmas.

Because she was deployed last Christmas, DD #2 already has her tree up!

On October 22, I took my mom to the orthopedic for her final appointment for the wrist fracture from her fall in May.  Mom tripped and fell on a ripple in the carpeting in the hallway outside of the doctor's office.  This time she fractured her right leg and tore open her left knee. 

It feels like a recurring nightmare. 

Her knee required over 20 stitches and she has to wear a knee immobilizing leg brace until the stitches come out.  The doctor thinks the stitches will come out in a couple more weeks.  Mom also has a walking boot on her right leg.  She was hospitalized for several days and is now home with home health care coming a couple times a week and me the rest of the time.  Mom has been sleeping in her electric recliner since she got home because she can't get in and out of bed with the leg brace and walking boot.  It's bad enough to be recovering from another fall, but add a grouchy attitude because of sleeping in a recliner and it makes for difficult days for those of us taking care of mom.

Until next time,

Take care, my friends!